New York, NY, November 18, 2025: Experts at Kantar, the world’s leading marketing data and analytics company, have identified the ten trends which will shape marketing in 2026 in its annual Marketing Trends report.
Jeff Greenspoon, CEO, Americas commented: “2025 was an inflection point that forced every business to rethink the fundamentals of growth. We saw just how quickly technology — especially GenAI — can deepen human understanding and help brands make faster, smarter decisions. As agents and algorithms become the new interface between people and the world, the link between brand value and enterprise value has never been tighter. Our data is unequivocal: the brands that win are those that embrace the core tension of our time — harnessing the power of technology while amplifying what makes them Meaningfully Different.
In this new era, advantage won’t come from chasing tools — it will come from earning trust. Brands that thrive will ground their innovation in high-quality, responsible data, and pair bold experimentation with a clear sense of identity and purpose. The future belongs to those who can balance creativity with discipline, show up consistently across moments, and deliver real value even as the marketplace transforms around them.”
According to Kantar, the ten trends that will shape 2026 are:
- AI agents at scale: Some 24% of AI users already leverage an AI-powered shopping assistant. As people increasingly brief agents to sound out products and influence what they buy, brands will need to actively serve these non-human consumers while continuing to persuade and entertain humans through traditional channels.
- Human connection through machine selection: If the model doesn’t know you, it won’t choose you. In 2026, the CMO’s job will be to make sure their brands are present in the content AI models learn from. That way, when people ask for a recommendation – be it a recipe, how-to guide or review, the right brand appears. This will require a focus on Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) as part of their marketing strategy: the strongest brands will be those that shape the story AI is telling.
- Synthetic data, augmented audiences: Augmenting audiences with AI will deepen marketers’ understanding so they can strategize more effectively, but this will strongly depend on data quality. 2026 will see technologies like digital twins evolve, as well as the rapid integration of text, voice, image and virtual reality (VR). To get ready, the organizations will need to develop robust capabilities, strong guardrails and work with trusted partners.
- Transform creative optimization into creative intelligence: With 74% of marketers excited about GenAI, the next step is using it where it counts. CMOs need to test and learn to ensure their creative captures attention, stirs emotion, and affects purchase intent. That requires high quality, trained datasets for creative effectiveness and a human touch to bring authenticity.
- Enjoy each day with a treat: Treatonomics (‘little treat culture’) is about injecting optimism and control through small pleasures. With major life milestones out of reach or undesirable, people mark ‘inchstones’ just to have something to celebrate. In fact, 36% of people would go into short-term debt to spend on things they enjoy. CMOs should ask if their brands are meeting consumers where they are, so they can create joy through everyday moments.
- Experiment to accelerate: innovation as an engine for growth: Innovation is a proven multiplier, with disruptor brands creating $6.6 trillion in value in the past 20 years, yet businesses playing it safe in 2026 will find this comes at the expense of future growth. Brands will succeed when they make experimentation their default. Embed a culture of smart risk-taking, where teams have permission to push boundaries, exploration is structured, and experimentation is rewarded. Crucially, innovation must be brand-led, not tech-led, rooted in what a brand stands for and in consumer motivations and tensions.
- Brands at the crossroads: authentic inclusion drives growth: Inclusive marketing is expansive marketing: 65% of people value companies who promote diversity and inclusion, up from 59% in 2021. In 2026, future-forward brands will leave behind the performative messages of the past and double down on inclusive innovation, culturally fluent programs and authentic representation internally and externally. In a climate of backlash, brands must lead with certainty and act clearly on the values they stand for.
- The growth of Retail Media Networks (RMNs): RMNs are becoming central to reaching shoppers; a net 38% of marketers plan to increase RMN investment in 2026. RMNs are high-performing, delivering 1.8x better results than digital ads, and nearly 3x better purchase intent. Brands and retailers will need to collaborate closely in 2026 to create consumer-focused advertising, with success hinging on data integration from different retail touchpoints.
- Time for creators to earn their place at the effectiveness table: A net 61% of marketers plan to increase their investment in creator content in 2026, so the pressure to show ROI and brand-building impact grows. Coherent, cross-channel ideas are 2.5x more important to campaign success than a decade ago, but only 27% of creator content ties strongly to the brand. 2026 needs a shift from isolated creator executions to long-term creative platforms which align brand and creator-led content. For CMOs, that means setting clear guardrails and success metrics with creators so they can do their own thing in an authentic way.
- Micro-communities, a major force in social media marketing: Algorithmic feeds reward generic, sales-heavy content. Faced with crowded and impersonal spaces, people are moving towards micro-communities where they can belong in a more meaningful way. Authenticity and relevance will drive more engagement than reach, so brands will win by showing up with tangible value and consistently and authentically engaging with people’s interests.
Read the full Marketing Trends 2026 report here.
About Kantar
Kantar is the world’s leading AI-native marketing data and analytics business and an indispensable brand partner to the world’s top companies. We combine the most meaningful attitudinal and behavioral data with deep expertise and advanced analytics to uncover how people think and act. We help clients understand what has happened and why and how to shape the marketing strategies that shape their future.